Kildare biodiversity conference was a great success
At the recent biodiversity conferance in the Keadeen Hotel, Newbridge were Dermot Doran, Kildare biodiversity officer Dr Méabh Boylan, Dan Donoher of Kildare Wildlife Rescue and Niamh Redmond Photos: Jimmy Fullam
The Keadeen Hotel in Newbridge recently hosted the second-ever biodiversity conference in the county, and it was a sold-out event with 140 attendees. The inaugural conference took place last October and was a first-of-its-kind event organised by Kildare Wildlife Rescue in partnership with Kildare County Council.
The conference brought together individuals and expert groups, showcasing the wide range of work in ecology, nature and biodiversity across Co Kildare.
“By bringing together passionate individuals and organisations invested in biodiversity, we hope to foster collaboration, inspire innovation, and ultimately make a positive impact on the ground for our wildlife and natural habitats,” said Dan Donoher, manager of Kildare Wildlife Rescue, the organiser of the event.
“There’s lots of people in the county doing great work for biodiversity in nature, but you can’t really achieve goals on your own, so the trick is to bring them all together,” he said.
“Kildare appointed its very own biodiversity officer last year, Dr Méabh Boylan. Méabh is putting together a biodiversity action plan, and it is now open for suggestions and ideas, so next year she should have a plan what to do with the county. For example, one thing that everybody agreed on was laurel hedging – it is dead for biodiversity and it should be banned in favour for our native hedges."
Dr Boylan commented: “We were delighted to be able to run this event again. Last year was a fantastic day of learning, networking and inspiration for the individuals and community groups in attendance. We aimed for even bigger and better this year, which I am sure we will achieve, with the fantastic Kildare Wildlife Rescue team at the helm.”
